Prigozhin’s death does make Russia more unsafe and unstable

There will be few people – other than his supporters or some of his employees and rightwing Russian nationalists – who will mourn the passing of Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash in Russia on Wednesday.

His brutal 25 000-strong Wagner mercenary group has been the subject of multiple allegations of human rights abuses, both in Ukraine, where it was the sharp end of the Russian military aggression, and in Africa, where it was deployed to advance Russian interests in key resource-rich countries.

ALSO READ: Update: Wagner chief Prigozhin now presumed dead in plane crash – Russian officials

Many are saying that the private jet was shot down by the Russians, allegedly because Russian President Vladimir Putin was extracting delayed revenge for Prigozhin’s attempted coup against Moscow just two months ago.

Others point out that Prigozhin is a master of disinformation and may even have faked his own death.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that his country had “nothing to do” with the crash, implying that the Kremlin was responsible.

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Russian history is replete with instances of powerful politicians getting rid of enemies and potential threats, so suspicions about Putin are not surprising. But the death of Prigozhin does make Russia more unsafe and unstable, especially if his supporters decide to take their own tit-for-tat action.